Reviewer:
AleksRastovic
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August 20, 2015
Subject:
Assignment 1
The Beverly Hillbillies is a half hour family comedy sitcom series, starring Buddy Ebsen as Jed Clampett, Donna Douglas as Elly May Clampett, Max Bear Jr. as Jethro Bodine, Nancy Kulp as Jane Hathaway, Irene Ryan as Granny, and Raymond Biley as Mr. Drysdale. Also, known as The Mornin' Beverly Hillbillies, the show was created by Paul Henning and broadcasted on CBS for nine seasons (274 episodes), from September 26th, 1962 to 1971. From 1962-1965, the show aired in black and white film, only to be filmed in color after 1965 (IMDB). According to Wiki, The Beverly Hillbillies, which was filmed in Los Angeles, was the most-watched TV-show on the US network television schedules from 1962-64. The original sponsors of the show were Kellogg's and R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (Winston cigarettes) (IMDB).
The second episode, ‘Getting Settled, is directed by Richard Whorf. It aired on October 3rd, 1962. In this episode, the Clampetts, who become millionaires overnight due to finding oil on their land, arrive to their new Beverly Hills mansion, causing havoc in the luxurious environment. Hilarious moments ensue, as the hillbilly family is a complete and utter fish out of water. The joke is both on the Clampetts and Mr. Drysdale, as well as his secretary, as neither the hillbillies nor the bankers understand each other’s worlds.
Although a grown man in his twenties, Jethro Bodine is still in the fifth grade. When Mr. Drysdale, who is the family’s chaperone into the new world, hears that Jethro attends an institution called Oxford, he assumes that Jethro is an Ivy League man. Only when he is faced with the idiot does he realize that Jethro is not an Oxford man but that Jethro’s school merely sounds the same as the prestigious one.
After a confrontation with her brother Jethro, Elly May, a beautiful naïve blonde tomboy, gets a talk from her father, Jed, about needing to act more like a lady and stop wrestling boys. Jed tells her that ‘nature made her into a girl,’ and that she needs to start acting like one in order to attract a husband.
The banker, Mr. Drysdale, who previously had a fight with his wife because he moved in the strange and foreign Clampetts next door, is on a mission to satisfy his clients because they’re the largest depositors for the bank. He sends his secretary, Jane Hathaway to help the family get situated in their new house, which was originally built by John Barrymore.
Upon arrival, Jane is a witness to the chaos of the Clampetts’ ignorance and backwardness. Granny attempts to stuff firewood into a modern stove and believes California is cold at night because the food in the refrigerator freezes when the fridge door shuts it and becomes dark inside. Jethro catches a flamingo in the pool, believing it to be a pink chicken in a cement pond. Additionally, while chasing the “pink chicken,” the father and son find a croquet ball and supposing it to be an egg they give it to Grandma to cook, who deems it frozen because it is so hard.
Jane takes Elly May for the housemaid and dresses her into a maid’s uniform, which is at least more feminine than what Elly May was wearing before. The secretary further misjudges the entire family: granny as the cook, Pop as the gardener, and finally, Jethro as the chauffer, although she falls for the Oxford joke just like her boss.
Jane runs into Granny who looks for an axe to break the egg. A comical exchange between the two women develops as Grandma tells Jane she wants to shoot a possum so she can make dinner. Appalled, Jane suggests she make a soufflé.
Fed up with the hillbillies, Jane looks forward to meeting Jethro, who she assumes is an educated Oxford man, unlike the rest of the people in the house. His father even talks Jethro up so that Jane sees him as a potential man to marry. Finally, Jethro walks in holding the “pink chicken.” Horrified, Jane yells that it is a flamingo and soon realizes that Jethro’s Oxford is not the same as the prestigious one. Finally, Elly May walks in back in her tomboy clothes. As soon as Jane yells at her, Elly attacks her to the floor.
Jane has a mini break down just before the Mr. Drysdale comes back to check up on them. Angry at his secretary for mistaking the Clampetts for the help, Mr. Drysdale almost fires her. Jed comes to Jane’s defense, saying she’s been helpful and that Jane is going hunting with him. Seeing her job is on the line, Jane optimistically takes the gun Jed hands to her, and heads out with Jed to find the “pink chicken” for dinner.
(AR/110)